This points-based visa is for skilled workers who are nominated by a state or territory to live in a Regional or Low Population Growth Area, or sponsored by an eligible relative living in a designated area in Australia. The visa is valid for four years, and a visa holder must live and work in a specified regional area. Additionally, eligible family members can be included in the application.

Gaining Legal Permanent Residence

After 2 years of living – and 12 months of working - in a Regional or low Population Growth Area on this visa visa holders can apply for the Skilled Regional Subclass 887 visa, which grants them legal permanent residence in Australia.

Please note that only those living and working in the areas noted on the Australia Regional or Low Population growth Areas table below are eligible to apply for legal permanent residence on the Skilled Regional Subclass 887 visa.

Eligibility

Under this visa, you can either be nominated by a state or territory government or be sponsored by an eligible relative.

To be able to submit a valid application for this visa you need to first submit an Expression of Interest through SkillSelect. You can do this in or outside Australia.

Application conditions

Applications are by invitation only. To be invited to apply, you must:

Family

You can include the following family members in your visa application:

your partner

your or your partner's dependent child

your or your partner's dependent relative.

Entitlements

This visa allows you and your dependants to:

temporarily live and work in a designated regional area in Australia

study in a specified regional area of Australia

travel in and out of Australia while the visa is valid

apply for permanent residence through the Skilled Regional (Residence) visa (subclass 887) after certain conditions have been met.

Visa obligations

Nominated by a state or territory

If you are nominated by a state or territory to live in a Regional or Low Population Growth Area in Australia there are obligations that your nominating state or territory will require you to meet. These include that you:

stay in that state or territory for at least two years

keep the state or territory informed of any changes to your address

complete surveys and provide information when asked

The following table details the full list of Regional or Low Population Growth Areas in Australia:

Your sponsor must be a resident in a designated area of Australia at the time of the sponsorship. The following is a list of the current designated areas:

Australia Sponsor Designated Areas table

State or Territory

Post Code areas

Australian Capital Territory

All

Northern Territory

All

South Australia

All

Tasmania

All

Victoria

All

Western Australia

All

New South Wales

2311 - 2312

2328 - 2333

2336 - 2490

2535 - 2551

2575 - 2739

2787 - 2898

Queensland

4019 - 4028

4037 - 4050

4079 - 4100

4114

4118

4124 - 4150

4158 - 4168

4180 - 4899

Processing

Priority processing arrangements apply to this visa. They determine the order in which Australian immigration considers applications regardless of when they have been submitted. To find out more about the priority processing arrangements Australian immigration has in place, please see our Priority Processing page.

Extension from other visas

This visa also allows holders of visa subclasses 495 and 496 to stay in Australia for an additional year.

If you hold one of the following visas and have met all the conditions of that visa, you may be eligible to apply for a subclass 489 visa, allowing you to stay in Australia for an additional year:

Skilled—Independent Regional (Provisional) Subclass 495

Skilled—Designated Area-sponsored (Provisional) Subclass 496

Your dependants who were not included in your original application may also be eligible to apply for this visa.

As a holder of one of the above provisional visas, you and any subsequent applicants do not need to submit an Expression of Interest and/or receive an invitation to apply. Instead you apply by submitting an application for Provisional Skilled Regional – Renewal Visa (489) or an application for Provisional Skilled Regional – Subsequent Entrant Visa (489).

However, you can only be granted a maximum of two provisional skilled visas, meaning if you've held any of the above visas more than once, you cannot apply for a subclass 489 visa.

Further Information, help, and advice

Workpermit.com has over twenty years of experience helping people immigrate to countries all over the World. If you feel that you can pass the points test and wish to immigrate to Australia, fill out our free assessment form and one of our representatives will contact you shortly.

For more information and advice on Australian immigration law and Australian visa applications please contact us on 0344 991 9222 or at london@workpermit.com